Three killed in separate fire incidents in Kudat and Semporna

KUDAT (Jan 24): Three people, including an elderly couple, were killed in two separate fire incidents in Kudat and Semporna.

In Kudat, an elderly couple died after failing to escape from their burning house at Kampung Lausan.

Kudat Fire and Rescue Station (Bomba) chief Darikson Galanang said the charred remains of the couple, both in their 70s, were found in a bedroom about an hour after the incident, which occurred at 11.50pm on Jan 23.

“Our station received a distress call at 11.58pm and 10 firefighters from our station and eight volunteer firefighters from Kg Ayer rushed to the location, reaching the location about half an hour.

“Bomba personnel faced difficulty to reach the location due to the narrow bridge and low electric wires which prevented our fire engines from passing through,” he said in a statement on Saturday.

Darikson said the fire was brought under control by 1.30am, and the bodies were discovered during subsequent investigations.

“The first body was found at 2am, while the second was found at 3.50am.

“Both bodies were handed over to the police for further action,” he said, adding that the operation ended at 4.47am.

In a separate incident, a 58-year-old woman was killed when a fire destroyed seven squatter houses at Kampung Pirigi in Semporna.

Semporna Bomba chief Rastam Keladi said the charred remains of the victim, identified as Munairaya binti Baluan, were found in one of the houses during the 11.10am incident on Saturday.

“Two teams rushed to the location after receiving a call at 11.12am.

“We managed to control the blaze by 11.57am and found the body in one of the affected houses,” he said in a statement.

Rastam said the body was handed over to the police for further action, and the operation ended about two hours later.